Indian Stock Market Hits Record High, Led by Auto and IT
Following the global cues, Indian benchmark indices extended their gains on Friday closing on a positive note. Sensex and Nifty closed up 319.63 points and 89.20 points, respectively, for gains of 0.47% and 0.44%, at 67,838.63 and 20,192.30. About 1872 shares advanced, 1649 shares declined, and 145 shares ended flat.
Biggest gainers were Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries, M&M, Hero MotoCorp and Bharti Airtel, while losers were BPCL, Asian Paints, HUL, Jio Financial and Tata Consumer Products. Sectors showed mixed trend as FMCG, oil & gas, power and realty down 0.4-1 percent, while auto, bank, pharma, information technology up 0.3-1 percent.
The BSE midcap and Smallcap indices ended on a positive note. After a gap-up opening, Sensex and Nifty extended their gains throughout the day, hitting fresh all-time highs of 67,927.23 and 20,222.15, before selling pressure intensified and the indices closed at 67,838.63 and 20,192.30.
According to Srikant Chouhan, Head of Retail Research at Kotak Securities, indices have been tracking global equities ever since macroeconomic factors turned positive. The dovish policies of central banks have already erased recession fears. According to Chauhan, bullish momentum may resume as long as the Nifty is trading above 20,000.
According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, indices rallied with a surge in blue-chip stocks such as Infosys, RIL, L&T, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank. However, rising crude oil prices and the dollar index may urge foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to withdraw from emerging markets.
